Portsmouth RNLI Lifeboat Station Temporarily Shut After Protest

Portsmouth’s RNLI lifeboat station has been temporarily taken off service following protests linked to the charity’s involvement in rescuing people arriving in the English Channel by small boat. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution said the station has been unavailable since 10 September, but stressed that established contingency arrangements remain in place to maintain search and rescue coverage in the busy maritime area.

The temporary closure follows an incident on 6 September, when RNLI crews assisted a dinghy carrying people seeking asylum that had arrived near Eastney in Portsmouth. The incident prompted a large protest in the area, with police deployed after demonstrators attempted to prevent vehicles carrying the arrivals from leaving.

The RNLI confirmed that Portsmouth lifeboat station has been temporarily off service since 10 September.

A spokesperson for the charity said the organisation hoped to return the station to service as soon as possible, while emphasising that the temporary closure did not mean Portsmouth had been left without maritime rescue protection.

The RNLI said neighbouring lifeboat stations and other declared rescue assets were providing cover under established contingency arrangements.

Temporary periods when individual lifeboat stations are unavailable are not unusual, according to the charity, which said similar arrangements are used when stations are affected by maintenance or other operational requirements.

The latest development follows the arrival of a small boat carrying asylum seekers at Eastney on 6 September.

Two RNLI crews were involved in assisting the boat, which, according to reports, carried about 120 people. The landing took place only a short distance from Portsmouth Lifeboat Station.

A crowd of about 200 people subsequently gathered in the area, according to Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary. Police said officers were deployed alongside Border Force, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, RNLI and Portsmouth City Council to maintain public safety and prevent disorder.

The crowd eventually dispersed at about 4am the following morning. Police said several police, Coastguard and Border Force vehicles were damaged, while a small number of officers were treated at the scene for injuries. No member of the public or any agency was seriously injured, according to the force.

In the aftermath, RNLI facilities and volunteers faced protests and hostile attention connected to the charity’s role in maritime rescues.

The RNLI temporarily closed a museum in nearby Poole, while Portsmouth’s lifeboat station removed its Facebook page. Volunteers around the UK were also advised to consider whether wearing RNLI-branded clothing could put them at risk.

The charity has defended its longstanding approach to search and rescue, saying its crews respond to people in danger at sea regardless of their background or circumstances.

The RNLI has also rejected claims that it houses asylum seekers at its facilities or conducts missions designed to transport migrants to undisclosed locations, describing such claims as baseless.

The charity has highlighted the relatively small proportion of its overall work involving small boats crossing the Channel.

According to figures cited by the RNLI, its lifeboats launched 9,058 times in 2025. Of those launches, 109 were to small boats in the Channel, accounting for approximately 1.2% of its total callouts.

The organisation says its wider work covers a broad range of maritime emergencies, with volunteer crews responding to people in difficulty around the UK and Ireland.

For Daily Dazzling Dawn, the Portsmouth closure comes at a time when the RNLI’s role in Channel rescues has become a subject of intense public debate following several high-profile small-boat arrivals.

The RNLI has maintained that its operational decisions are based on maritime safety and its longstanding lifesaving role rather than immigration policy.

Separately, legal proceedings have begun following the disorder at Eastney Marina.

Del Leon Somerville, 42, from Paulsgrove, was the first person arrested in connection with the incident. He later admitted violent disorder at court. He also faces an allegation of assaulting a police constable, to which he did not enter a plea at the relevant hearing.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary has continued reviewing hundreds of hours of footage as part of its investigation. The force has also released images of people it wants to identify in connection with the disorder and has made further arrests and charges.

The temporary closure of Portsmouth Lifeboat Station does not currently mean the area is without search and rescue protection. The RNLI says contingency arrangements involving neighbouring stations and other declared assets remain in place while the station is off service.

Daily Dazzling Dawn understands that the RNLI will return the Portsmouth station to normal service when it is able to do so safely.